How to Select Pipe Material

There are various types of pipe materials. How to determine which materials to use? To

There are various types of pipe materials. How to determine which materials to use? To determine the material, especially for the industry, the most important factor is what fluid flows in it. In addition, the outside conditions of the pipeline also affect. And lastly, of course the economic side is also the basis of material selection.

The pipe can be divided into 2 large parts. Pipes of metal and non-metallic. The metal consists of carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum, nickel and others, For more information you can visit pennsylvania custom fabricating. The following is an example in the design of pipes for industrial plants of natural gas, oil, or other chemical plants.

First, the process engineer must calculate what and how many kinds of content will pass through the pipeline. Basically, all pipes for the process usually have to use metal pipes and start from the cheapest carbon steel material.

Due to fluid flow, the inside of the pipe is corroded, and one way to establish the corrosion rate is to use the de Waard – Milliams nomograph chart. This graph helps to determine how much corrosion rate (mm / yr) is due to the presence of CO2 content in the fluid.

Problems caused by corrosion can be overcome by increasing the thickness of the pipe as the corrosion speed multiplied by the year the factory was designed. However, if the total thickness required to overcome the corrosion is too thick, the pipe will become very thick and ineffective in its construction. For this condition, stainless steel pipe becomes the next choice.

In addition to corrosion, the fluid temperature also determines the pipe material. The lower the temperature, the metal will become easily cracked. This is because the brittle (brittle) properties of the metal increase at low temperatures. Stainless steel is one that is resistant to low temperatures. Therefore, for cryogenic service (fluid with operating temperature below -196 degrees Celsius) stainless steel is a suitable material compared to carbon steel.